Mr Mason for the Defense
by organanation
Summary: Perry Mason, fresh out of law school, starts at an up-and-coming firm with his hand-picked secretary, Della. Things aren't all sunshine and roses, though, when they realize what it's like being the lowest lawyer on the totem pole...Just some groundwork for a growing series!
1. Chapter 1

_AN: This story is a sequel to _Mr. Mason Takes a Secretary_ and tells the story of Perry's first case! I do hope you'll enjoy their first adventure!_

_Billings and Dawson, Attorneys at Law_

That was what was written on the plate-glass window that Perry pushed open bright and early on a Monday morning. He let Della walk in first.

"Mr. Mason and Ms. Street, welcome," greeted the receptionist, Mary Ellen. "Ms. Street, Martha's waiting for you in the secretarial pool. And Mr. Mason, Mr. Billings is ready for you in his office."

Della gave Perry a hopeful smile before following Mary Ellen's gesture down a long hallway. Perry walked into Mr. Billings' open door.

"Ah, Mason, right on time. I'll show you to your office and let you get settled." The man rose from his desk and gave Perry a hearty handshake before leading him down the same hallway that Della had taken moments earlier.

They passed a number of offices and stopped at the last one in the corridor, just before it opened up into a room crammed with secretaries.

"I'm afraid one of the junior partners took the office of your predecessor. It was quite a nice one. You'll have this one, here. A bit loud, sometimes, with all the typing and ringing phones." The man flipped through keys on a ring and Perry looked down at the secretarial pool. Something told him Della was going to hate it-no way she would have her tight ship in a room full of that chaos.

Another man came down the corridor and stopped at the office just across the hall from Perry's.

"This is Mr. Burger, our newest junior partner," Mr. Billings introduced.

Perry smiled as he shook the man's hand.

"Mr. Mason will be assisting you on the Grant case," Billings explained to Burger.

"No disrespect sir, but I've got the Grant case well in hand," Burger exclaimed.

"Later, Burger. I'm helping Mr. Mason get settled." The younger man walked into his office in a huff. "Don't mind him. Awfully competitive, especially now that the DA's announced he's retiring. He's hoping to be considered. Anyway, here's your office."

Perry peeked in. The room was small and cramped, almost dominated by the Brobdingnagian desk that sat in the middle of the floor. A few small chairs were shoved against the wall for his clients, and a single filing cabinet was crammed behind the desk.

"Your secretary will have a desk out here. I'm sure she'll be in soon—Martha's just showing her the supply room and the likes. I'll give you a few hours to settle in, and then we'll get you working with Burger. Oh, you'll find a box of files under your desk. Those are the clients you've inherited from your predecessor. Familiarize yourself with those clients, because they'll come to you if they need something. Good morning, Mr. Mason."

Perry blinked as his new boss left the vestibule. There was, indeed, a box of files under the desk. Perry perused a few, mostly of correspondences between lawyer and client and typed records of their past meetings. Everything looked rather boring, but Perry supposed that was how things started out, especially with repeat clients.

Della poked her head in a few minutes later.

"I've got our first task," he told her, pointing to the box. "Organize them however it makes sense to you, and then I'd like to make appointments with all of the clients over the next few weeks to get to know them."

Della nodded, shoving the box towards the door with her foot.

"What's in the filing cabinet?" she asked.

Perry yanked open a rusty drawer. "More files, it appears. Quite dated. I'll ask someone what we can do with them. In the meantime, we've got a few briefs. Ready to take some dictation?"

00

Della spent much of her time in his office, away from the noise and chaos of the secretarial pool. The women were terrible gossips. Not that Della minded a tidbit here and there, no, but the constant chatter combined with the ringing telephones and clattering typewriters, it was all she could do to hear herself think.

She was certain her absence from the pool made her a topic of the gossip they passed around, not that she had a mind to care. The others rarely spent more than a few minutes at a time away from their desk, and much of the gossip they shared was related to the particular lawyer they aided.

Only one other girl seemed to share Della's desire to actually do her job-a young girl named Gertrude. She worked for Mr. Burger, who was doing everything he could to be noticed by the search committee for the new district attorney. Gertie took feverish notes during Mr. Burger's meetings, always took care to type things perfectly, and spent afternoons in court with him as his cases were tried.

Gertie had confided in Della that she hoped Burger would get the job just so she could resign as his assistant. The late hours were alright while she was living with a few friends, but she hoped to be engaged by the end of the summer. She wanted to keep working, but her beau wouldn't let her if her job continued to demand all her extra time.

Della hoped she wouldn't leave-Gertie was her only friend at the office. Aside from Perry, of course…

Perry was frustrated, too.

"I studied to be a trial lawyer, not a paralegal," he complained.

"One day, the name Perry Mason will be synonymous with justice," Della placated," but for now, we need to finish this affidavit."

00

"My neighbor is bringing me to court. He claims I built a fence on his side of the property line. We brought out a surveyor, and he says I built on my side. Perfectly within the law. And now, he's retained a lawyer and I've got a summons! "

"I've got a friend who's a lawyer. His name's Perry Mason. Give him a call and tell him I sent you. He'll see you. I can't promise he can fix it, but he can advise you on what to do."

00

"So after you had the surveyor come out, Mr. Tinsley contacted a lawyer?"

"Yes, Mr. Mason. I didn't really see the point; the survey office confirmed the fence was on my land. Legally, he couldn't get me to do anything."

"Potentially a scare tactic...what's the name of the lawyer?"

Joe Short rummaged through his pockets and produced a business card.

"Hmm...I'll look into this matter, Mr. Short, and get back to you by the end of the week," Perry assured.

"Thank you, sir. I can see myself out."

"Well, Chief, you asked for a case, and we've got one."

"At least we might get a day in court," Perry shrugged. "Can you get this lawyer on the phone, and then contact Paul and have him dig up what he can about this 'Cecil Tinsley.' It might not be the most exciting thing ever, but we've got a case."

00

Perry knocked on the door of Cecil Tinsley's house. The door wasn't latched and swung open the moment Perry's knuckles rapped on it. He glanced at Della and peeked in.

"Mr. Tinsley? Hello?" He stepped into the foyer and put his hand out to guide Della in with him.

"Anyone home?" Della called. Perry took another step, walking from the foyer into the sitting room.

"Well, Della, looks like we're not going to question Mr. Tinsley," Perry said, putting his hand out to keep her in the foyer.

"What's the matter?" she asked, trying to peek into the room. She saw a pair of wingtip shoes, toes pointed toward the ceiling. She gasped. "Is he-"

Perry nodded. "Go next door and find Mr. Short. Take a cab to the office right away, and wait for me there. I'm going to ring the police."


	2. Chapter 2

"And when you realized there was this bad blood between your brother and the defendant, you determined to kill your brother and frame Mr. Joe Short for his murder!" Perry exclaimed, sweat dripping from his brow. No one in the courtroom took a breath, waiting for the man on the stand to refute the claims.

"Yes! I killed my brother so I wouldn't have to share our father's inheritance!" Charles Tinsley exclaimed.

The courtroom was silent, shocked at the outburst.

The judge ordered the bailiff take Charles Tinsley into custody and immediately arrange for the release of the defendant.

Perry returned to the defence table as the courtroom buzzed with excitement. He was all smiles as Joe Short shook his hand and Della's. Della, too, congratulated him with a bright smile as she gathered papers into their leather folios.

The press was gathered in the hall and began hounding him for answers as soon as the elevator doors slid open.

He gave them humble smiles as they called questions, but he merely pulled Della along behind him, keeping her out of the crush of the crowd.

"How did you know it was his brother?" Della asked when the car door was securely shut.

"Just a hunch I couldn't get rid of," Perry admitted.

"I hope all your hunches turn out this good," Della laughed.

"We'd do quite well for ourselves if they did."

00

The whole office congratulated him as he came in the next morning, with the obvious absence of Mr. Burger and the two senior partners.

"Well, Chief, you certainly did them proud," Della smiled, following him into his office.

"I'd like to think so," Perry agreed.

Someone knocked on the door and Della stood up to admit them. Mr. Billings gave Perry a tight smile as he entered.

"What you did in the courtroom was something, Mason, that's certain. Good. You found justice and made sure it was served."

"Thank you, sir."

"There's just one problem. Some of the junior partners are a bit concerned about their job security now, especially with the selection of the new DA coming up."

"I'm far too inexperienced to be considered for that position, sir. Even for junior partnership."

"We want notoriety for the firm, Mason. Good publicity. Not week after week of you pulling some shenanigans in the courtroom, upstaging everyone else in the firm. I'm letting you know that you won't be getting any more cases for a while. We'll have you consulting, and working amicus curae, you know. What you've been doing for a while. Then, after things have settled down with the DA and you've gained some…prudent methods of presenting before the bench, we can reassess your position." Mr. Billings stood and let himself out.

"Well, I never…don't they realize how much trouble it would have been for all that information to come out eventually? And it would have, too. All it would've taken was—"

Perry put a hand on Della's forearm to calm her.

He didn't say anything, just looked at the desk with an unreadable expression.

00

"I assure you, Hamilton, I was securely within the confines of the law," Perry assured. "The door was open."

"Look, Mason, it's not a good idea for a lawyer to go poking around like that, whether you're in your legal rights or not," Burger replied angrily. "It takes one wrong step for you to be outside the confines of the law, and for someone to file suit against you." Della shrank back against the wall and watched Gertie do the same thing. "_This_ is why the senior partners don't let paralegals take cases to court. The moment this became a murder case, it should have been handed to someone higher up in the firm, even if the client insisted on you."

"I resent that remark. What I lack in experience, I make up for in tenacity."

"Tenacity isn't going to solve everything," Burger insisted accusingly. "Just because you got lucky once _does not _give you the right to go throwing caution to the wind in search of some grand truth!"

"You're an officer of justice, Mr. Burger. You don't feel that it's your duty to chase the truth, no matter the cost?"

"May I remind you, Counselor, that we are officers of the court and it is our duty to fight for justice when given the facts of a case as ascertained by law enforcement!"

"Facts are facts! If the police give me falsehoods, it is my job to find the truth."

"If the only way you find this so-called truth is by breaking laws, then perhaps the bar association would be better off without you," Hamilton countered.

Della bit her lip. That wasn't going to rest well with Perry. Before he could retort, however, Mr. Dawson stepped between the men.

"Gentlemen! This is an establishment where intellect and words reign supreme! There are certainly more productive ways to be airing grievances, and certainly more appropriate places than the middle of the hall where the entirety of the staff and clients can hear! I trust I shan't need to bring this up again," the man warned like a schoolmaster corralling rowdy boys. He marched down the hall to his office.

"My congratulations, Mr. District Attorney," Perry bit angrily. "I hope to see you in court some day."

"Doubtful. Dawson and Billings aren't going to let you off the leash for a long time," Burger gloated, walking into his office. "Gertie, get my wife on the phone," he called after her.

Perry whirled into his office and Della followed.

00

"Here's to your first win," Paul toasted happily. Perry and Della only half-heartedly went along. "Hey, what gives?"

"I've been banned from trying cases," Perry admitted. Della covered his hand with hers.

"The bar?!" Paul exclaimed.

"The firm," Della amended.

"Oh, well, that's fine then. Just go to another firm," Paul suggested.

"Oh, sure, just pick up and knock on some senior partner's door and demand they take me and my secretary," Perry said sarcastically, taking a long drag from his cigarette.

"Well, I'm sure you could get in with me, at the Brent Building."

"Start a firm?" Della asked.

"Why not? No one's going to leash you back if you're the boss, 'cept for Miss Beautiful, here," Paul teased.

Perry sent a calculating look in Della's direction

"That's an up-and-coming spot. Getting in early could be good," Della reasoned, anticipating his question.

"We'd be starting from scratch. Nothing much in the way of furniture, no law library to speak of…"

"No hap-hazard filing system?"

Perry chuckled, taking her hand. "My dear, you can organize the files however it makes sense to you. In fact, you can run the whole place however you see fit. Run your ship as tight as you want."

Della smiled. "If you think it'll work, I'll give it a go."

"You're sure? It'll be risky, at first. No guarantee of clients, which means no guarantee of income…"

"You'll have clients," Della assured.

"You know you've got my business for life," Paul added.

"It'll be risky, Della. Are you sure?" He looked at her square, leaving no room for teasing or jokes.

"I'm sure."

It was Perry's turn to smile. "I think we'll start with dictation in the morning, Della. 'Dear Mr. Billings, it is with regret that I must inform you that I have taken another position…"

00

"This office over here will be yours, Della, and this one off over here will be the law library. Of course, the one behind them is mine, and the front will be a reception area."

"Your friend was right—we'll certainly be starting from scratch. I haven't seen a stick of furniture in this whole building."

"We'll take care of that soon enough. So, does this suit you? Do you think you can run your tight ship here?" he teased.

"I believe so, Counselor," she teased back.

"Mrs. Potter has already confirmed that her business will be following us," Perry stated. "And a few other clients have made clear their intentions to do so, also."

"I told you we'd have business right away," Della chided.

"So it seems. We'll start at 9 am sharp getting things settled in here," Perry decided. "We'll make a trip to the furniture store and see if we can't find something in the way of a table and chairs, at least. And we'll need to stock up on a few office supplies," he listed.

"Sure thing. Anything else?" He glanced at Della, who'd taken out her notepad and a pencil, making a list of their errands for the morning.

"Very efficient, Ms. Street," he teased. "How about we go for some pie at the diner to celebrate?"

"Counselor, you've got yourself a date."

_AN: Forgive me if I can't spin a mystery quite like ESG can...this little series is more about our dear Perry and Della than it is mysteries, though ;) I figured it was important to show the firm got its start! I do hope you'll join me again soon for some more PerryxDella-I promise the next thing I'm working on has lots more of them AND a better mystery. Drop me a review!_

_ON_


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